All-Star Classic to reach 110 million homes on TV

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that the telecast of the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic will reach more than 110 million households on Sportsnet in Canada and on a comprehensive network of television partners in the United States.

Produced in high definition by Concom Inc., live broadcasts of the event from the historic War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y., will air Sunday, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. ET for the AHL All-Star Skills Competition, and Monday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. ET for the AHL All-Star Challenge.

John Bartlett, play-by-play announcer for the Montreal Canadiens on Sportsnet, will handle play-by-play duties; Bob McGill, analyst for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies on Leafs TV, will provide color commentary; and Dan D’Uva, the radio voice of the Syracuse Crunch, will be rinkside.

National coverage of the AHL All-Star Classic across Canada will see the Skills Competition on Sportsnet live in all four regions (East, Ontario, West, Pacific) and the All-Star Challenge coast-to-coast on Sportsnet ONE.

In the United States, the league’s showcase event will be seen on more than 25 regional networks, including the New England Sports Network; Comcast SportsNet’s Mid-Atlantic, Chicago, Northwest and California affiliates as well as The Comcast Network in Philadelphia; MSG Network, serving the New York City metro area and upstate New York; Root Sports Pittsburgh; Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports North, Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports San Diego and Prime Ticket; Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which reaches viewers across 10 states in and around the Rocky Mountains; and ONE World Sports, which offers best-in-class sporting events to more than 30 million cable and satellite customers across the U.S.

Time Warner Cable customers in New York state, the Carolinas, Wisconsin, Kansas City and Texas will get to see the AHL All-Star Classic on their local TWC sports channels, and My Network TV in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (WQMY-TV) and Antenna TV in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR-TV 23.2) will also air the event for local AHL fans.

In addition, the two-day event will be streamed worldwide to subscribers via AHL Live (ahllive.com).

A limited number of tickets for the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic are still available. They can be purchased either in person at the Syracuse Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 South State Street in Syracuse or by calling (315) 473-4444, through all Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Complimentary tickets for the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony are available by visiting the Syracuse Crunch office or by phone at (315) 473-4444. The AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, to be held at the Crouse Hinds Theater at 11 a.m. on Feb. 1, will feature the induction of Bruce Cline, Ralph Keller, Jean-Francois Labbe and Bruce Landon as the AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2016 and will also celebrate honorary All-Star Classic captains Michael Peca and Scott Walker.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 31 will keep its traditional format, with All-Stars from the Eastern Conference squaring off against All-Stars from the Western Conference in seven skills events. The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Challenge will take place on the evening of Feb. 1 and instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the AHL’s All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific). The teams will then play a round-robin tournament featuring six games of nine minutes each; the first half of each game will be played at 4-on-4, and the second half at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face off for the championship, a six-minute game played at 3-on-3.

In operation since 1936 and celebrating its 80th-anniversary season in 2015-16, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 14th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2014-15.